Iran Cites Canadian Violations of Women's Rights

In today’s debate on the adoption of the periodic report to examine Canadian rights violations, Cuba, Russia, Iran, and Algeria all condemned Canada for failing to accede to the Convention on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and withdrawing from the Durban Review Conference, “isolating itself from international cooperation in efforts to combat racism,” according to Russia.

Algeria complained that Canada demands other countries ratify other international conventions when it is not perfect itself in this regard. Iran highlighted “serious violence against aboriginal women” in Canada.

Algeria and Iran also implicitly complained about Canada’s support for Israel in the Council, with Algeria noting that Ottawa “refused to denounce violations committed by the occupying power in a specific region in the world” and Iran asking it to “address double standards and politicization in its human rights policies.”

By contrast, the U.S. said “Canada has been a model member of the Human Rights Council, demonstrating its deep commitment to protecting human rights and upholding the Council’s mandate. Canada sets high standards for its human rights practices.”

In the session’s opening, Canadian Ambassador Marius Grinius explained that all the report’s comments “have been given serious consideration.” He said that two parliamentary committees are examining the report, and Canada accepted 32 of its 68 recommendations with 22 others accepted in part and 14 rejected. “New funding has been allocated for training to support the labor market outcomes for aboriginal people,” he said, also citing health programs for Canadian Inuits.